


First Aid Kit

by bananaquit



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 01:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananaquit/pseuds/bananaquit
Summary: prompt from an anon on tumblr: "so neil's set up for a blind date and goes to the place and mistakes todd for his date but todd is too awkward and shy to tell him"





	First Aid Kit

Todd fidgeted by tapping his fingers together absentmindedly as he waited for his server. He was a patient man, but this was getting ridiculous. He was only going out as a treat to himself, really. He’d finally straightened things out with the publishing company, which had been a long and stressful endeavor. His first book was finally set to be published next year. It would have been a cause worthy of celebration if he had any actual friends. As it was, he had to celebrate himself. Thus the reason he was sitting in a nice-ish Italian place, waiting to order his food.

As he waited, he saw a nice-looking guy about his age enter the restaurant. He had brown hair to match his eyes and a striking face with sculpted cheekbones. He looked like he was searching for someone. Todd nearly had a panic attack when the man looked right at him and then started to _walk towards_ him as if he recognized him. He froze up entirely when the stranger sat down across from him at his table.

“Hey,” the stranger greeted, stretching out a hand. “Sorry I’m late, I forgot the directions and kind of got lost.” He laughed. “I’m Neil. You must be Eric.”

Todd shook his hand and opened his mouth to tell him he had the wrong guy, but no words came out. To his horror, Neil took his silence as confirmation. “Nice to meet you. Charlie said you liked theatre?” Todd just opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, completely unable to speak. “I used to absolutely _love_ acting. I was in _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ when I was younger, that was a lot of fun.” Neil glanced down at his hand in his lap, squinted at it, then looked back up. “I’m actually auditioning for the part of an angel soon, mind telling me what it’s like?”

Todd visibly flushed, looking away and refusing to meet Neil’s eyes. “I’m _joking!_ ” Neil added quickly and far too forcefully, smiling a smile so wide and forced Todd thought it would tear his face apart. “Charlie told me to say that, blame him. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, yadda yadda, you know.” Todd stared blankly back at him. “ _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_? No? Oh. Well, I, uh-”

It was just then that the server showed up and mercifully interrupted the awkward and one-sided conversation. The two ordered their food, but silence fell again when the waitress left.

“Well, um, yeah, I _did_ do theatre, but my dad wants me to be a doctor.” Neil tried to pick up where he had left off. “They don’t exactly have a drama program at medical school.” He laughed awkwardly. “Am I talking too much? I’m talking too much. Tell me about yourself.”

"I… uh…” Todd stammered. “I’m not… I don’t…”

“You’re not feeling very talkative, huh? That’s cool, that’s fine. I can tell you about-” Todd tuned him out at that point as his attention was drawn to a guy dialing the rotary phone on the wall in the corner. He could make out snippets of the conversation that involved names like “Charlie” and “Neil” and phrases like “didn’t show up” and then the guy’s eyes shifted over to their table and an expression of realization dawned on his face and he hung up the phone and strode purposefully towards them and oh no oh no oh no oh no no no-

Todd felt a hand grab hold of his collar. He was yanked to his feet against his will, too shocked to put up a fight as the guy he assumed was Eric fastened his hand around his neck. “What the hell is your problem? I’ve been sitting here waiting for _half an hour_ and you didn’t even bother to tell him he had the _wrong guy_!?” Eric spat, tightening his hold.

The other patrons were all staring at the scene unfolding in front of them as Neil jumped to his feet. “Hey! Don’t hurt him! What’s going on?” he squeaked, his voice cracking.

“You were too goddamn _stupid_ to realize you sat with the wrong guy, _dumbass_ .” Eric snarled, pushing Todd back and sending him crashing onto the floor. “I came out here to have a good time and the whole evening has been a _disaster_ thanks to you two idiots.” he spat.

 _Tell me about it_ , Todd thought, rubbing his head where he’d banged it against a chair during his fall.

“Tell Charlie I’m not interested.” Eric finished, shoving Neil aside as he walked out the door. Everyone in the restaurant stood in stunned silence for a moment. Todd wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he stumbled to his feet and ran out the door. He escaped into the dark alleyway beside the restaurant, where he slipped down against the wall and buried his face in his knees before letting out a choked sob. He’d somehow made strangers hate him in trying to do something nice for himself. Maybe he just didn’t deserve to be happy.

Neil was frozen like a statue for a second before he ran after him, leaving behind a very confused waitress with two plates of spaghetti. After running around the building, he finally found Todd and walked towards him, apprehensive. Todd looked up with teary eyes. “I can- I can explain,” he whimpered.

“Are you… okay?” Neil asked, still standing awkwardly above him.

“I don’t know.” Todd managed, wiping at his face with his shirt sleeve. “You sat down and I was just so surprised I didn’t know what to do and I’m bad at talking to people and I got so nervous and you were so nice and pretty and I knew I wasn’t the person you were supposed to be meeting but you were talking and I didn’t want to interrupt and-”

“Woah, hey. Hey. I’m not mad.” Neil said, crouching down next to him. “I was the one who didn’t let you answer. I probably dodged a bullet there anyway, huh?” He smiled sadly, tentatively resting his hand on Todd’s shoulder. His eyes widened suddenly. “Oh, shit.” He cupped a hand under Todd’s chin and used it to tilt his head so he could see it in better light. A large, bloody bruise was on Todd’s temple where his head had nicked the chair as he fell. “You’re hurt.”

“I-it’s nothing, I’m sorry-”

“No, no. I have a first aid kit in my car. I’m so, so sorry. It’s my fault you were caught in the middle of this. Remind me not to trust Charlie with setting me up anymore.” Neil stood and offered Todd his hand. Todd took it and Neil helped him up. They walked across the parking lot to Neil’s car, where he grabbed the first aid kit. The two sat on the trunk as Neil gently dabbed the blood from his face and patched the wound.

“You keep a first aid kit in your car?” Todd asked, faintly snickering.

“Charlie gets into a lot of fights.” Neil replied, still focused on treating the wound.

“Charlie sounds like an… interesting guy.”

Neil chuckled. “He has a short temper, but he means well. I doubt he knew the guy would flip out like that when he set this up.” Neil finally finished patching the wound. “There. I’m really sorry about this. You probably hate me.”

“I don’t hate you. Y-you’re the first person who’s shown any interest in me in a long time. Even if I didn’t really talk, you’re probably the only person who’s even _wanted_ to know about me, what I have to say. This has been… the most positive social experience I’ve had with anyone in a while. I don’t really get out much.” He laughed sadly.

Neil paused. “I never did learn your real name.”

“Todd Anderson.”

Neil smiled. “Well, Todd, I know I know we didn't really start off on the right foot, but do you wanna go out for dinner sometime? I think I owe you one.”

Todd thought for a moment. While this hadn't been the way he thought his night would go, maybe it wasn't so bad after all. “Actually, yeah.” He smiled faintly. “I’d like that.” Perhaps he wasn't so alone after all.


End file.
